


A Lesson in Love

by CobaltCorvus



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-11
Updated: 2017-03-26
Packaged: 2018-10-02 13:16:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10219163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CobaltCorvus/pseuds/CobaltCorvus
Summary: Alec should have known he was doomed from the moment he decided to ask Magnus Bane for help.





	1. Chapter 1

The Defense Against the Dark Arts class that day had been enjoyable for most everyone, with silvery patronuses leaping or flying or swimming in every direction by the end of the period. It had even started out promising for Alec as well, with a spurt of light forming a hazy outline that looked like a cross between a dolphin and a turtle, but it didn’t improve from there.

Knowing the class was almost over and he’d yet to have a successful attempt, Alec concentrated on the memory of a family outing, Jace and Isabelle flying overhead on their small broomsticks and their parents watching the two of them with proud smiles. He could picture it like it was yesterday, the bright summer day perfect for playing quidditch with the padded quaffles and racing laps around the field. After he’d finally managed to get his broom off the ground he’d joined in too, as the Keeper to counter Jace and Isabelle’s excited impersonations of famous Chasers. It was easier to try and block the two’s shots in front of the one makeshift goal hoop than to try and match their speeds as they looped and dove through the air.

“Expecto patronum!” He stared at the tip of his wand, willing it to produce more than a thin trickle but the small puddle of light evaporated into nothing after only a few seconds.

Rubbing at his eyes with a long sigh, Alec looked around at the rest of the class for something to distract him from his current lack of success. The closest to him was Magnus, who stood a little ways off, his sleeves pushed up to his elbows and hair streaked with a red glow from the windows behind him that provided a view onto the grounds. The short, pig-tailed girl beside him listened intently as he demonstrated the movements of the spell through example. There was a small smile on Magnus’ face, his expression focused while he flicked his wand through the air; he made it look easy, despite all the effort Alec knew the spell required.

A fountain of light burst from Magnus’ wand, coalescing into the form of a tiger, moonbright and prowling. It stripes were translucent, glowing even in the sunlit room. Alec couldn’t take his eyes off it as it stalked protectively around Magnus, its mouth open in a silent growl. It was certainly appropriate, Magnus gave off an aura of confidence, both in himself and in his magic, that was well-deserved. His fierceness and cunning were well known in their year, especially as a Slytherin prefect. Alec remembered to close his mouth after a few moments and reigned his thoughts in before they wandered too far.

“Okay, next week we’ll have a quick assessment for this chapter, keep that in mind. Class dismissed.” The thin reedy voice of the professor cut through the chatter at the end of class and Alec’s heart missed a beat. An assessment; he’d have to produce a patronus in front of the whole class and, with how it was going so far, fail miserably. Usually an assessment meant being holed up in the library studying, but he had a feeling this was something he’d need to actually practice.

His gaze slid to Magnus, still talking to the pig-tailed girl with his wand dangling from his fingers. Isabelle hadn’t learned patronuses yet, being in her fifth year, so he couldn’t ask her and while Jace was good at doing spells, he was about as bad at explaining how to actually cast them.

Before he could change his mind, Alec started towards Magnus and the girl, catching the tail end of the two’s conversation.

“-to the Solstice Ball with me?” The girl looked at Magnus in earnest admiration, tugging at the ends of her red and gold scarf while she waited for his answer.

“I’m sorry, darling. I can’t.” Magnus’ voice was soft, his hand resting on her shoulder in a consoling gesture. To her credit she seemed to take it in stride, an understanding smile and a nod goodbye before she hurried out with the lunchtime crowd towards the Great Hall.

Alec seized his chance before Magnus could follow her into the throng.

“Magnus, I-” He wasn’t quite prepared for when Magnus turned back to him with an expectant look. The same intensity with which he’d cast his patronus was now directed at him and Alec wasn’t quite sure how to continue. Thankfully, Magnus decided to break the silence.

“What can I do for you, Alexander?”

“Would you… help me with my patronus? I’m having trouble…”

“Of course!” The grin that spread across Magnus’ face was somehow even wider than before and a weight was released from within Alec’s chest. He felt lighter somehow and he didn’t bother with trying to pinpoint the exact reason why. Magnus continued, “I know an empty classroom with plenty of space to practice. How about tomorrow evening?”

“Sure.” Alec was surprised at how easy it had been to get Magnus’ help, he’d heard about his business of smuggling muggle products into Hogwarts and had assumed he’d need to provide some incentive or payment.

“It’s a date,” Magnus said with a wink and grabbed his bag from where it had been leaning against his desk. “See you then.” A jaunty wave and he had disappeared, leaving Alec with the impression that he had been talking to a whirlwind, powerful and yet providing a breath of fresh air.

“See you then,” Alec muttered to the suddenly quiet classroom, heading off to the library while it was still empty of people. He’d need to get a head start for tomorrow night.


	2. Chapter 2

Magnus turned out be a very hands-on tutor. A fact that, ironically, made it harder for Alec to actually concentrate. The first few times Magnus’s fingers lingered for longer than needed while adjusting his elbow or pressed against his spine to straighten his back, Alec had dismissed it as wishful thinking; until it kept on happening.

  
“Magnus, is that, um, really necessary?” His voice shouldn’t have caught in the middle of the sentence, but he couldn’t bring himself to care too much when he could still feel the warmth of Magnus’s palm against his side. He resisted the urge to lean into the touch, shifting his grip on his wand in an effort to distract himself.

  
“Of course it is. If you don’t have the proper posture or wandwork then there’s no point in the rest of it. And besides,” Magnus practically purred in his ear, leaning closer to fix his stance with a nudge of Magnus’ hip against Alec’s. “I’d be a poor tutor if I didn’t pay close attention to the person I’m helping.”

  
Alec stared straight ahead, not daring to look in Magnus’ direction and see that pleased grin he would likely be wearing lest he lose any semblance of self-control.

  
The next thing he knew, Magnus had stepped back and Alec found himself missing the contact, the self-assured hands guiding him with such care.

  
“Alright, you look good,” Magnus said with a wink, “So start whenever you want.”

  
Alec swallowed, throat abruptly going dry at the thought of failure. A happy memory, all he needed was just one truly happy memory. His thoughts racing, he didn’t realize how long he’d been silent until Magnus came closer again, brow furrowed in concern.

  
“Alec?”

  
“Sorry, I… wasn’t ready.”

  
“Forget your memory? That’s fine, it doesn’t always have to be the same one to work.” Magnus’ smile was slow and easy, meant to be reassuring but Alec couldn’t bring himself to smile back.

  
He squared his shoulders, concentrating on his first night at Hogwarts, the moment when he was sorted into Hufflepuff and the Sorting Hat had rumbled into his ear that it was the perfect house for him.

  
“Expecto patronum!” His wand emitted a small wisp of a patronus, barely more than a swirl of fog before it had faded away. He tried again, with the same lackluster result, hardly a hint of a shape in the cloudy silver that streamed from the tip.

  
Clenching his jaw in frustration, he took a deep breath. This was just like normal, it took work to get any spell right, it didn’t matter how much faster others in the class went, hard work would get him there in the end. The usual platitudes running through his mind weren’t helping, not when he could feel Magnus watching him. He’d asked him for help and was now wasting his time, he should’ve tried harder.

  
“Maybe we should talk about your memory. Your form’s perfect from what I can see,” Magnus’ quiet suggestion broke Alec out of his downward spiral of thoughts. “What did you pick?”

  
“The time I got sorted. The first night here.”

  
“How did you feel?”

  
“Happy.”

  
“Anything else?” Alec would have expected at least a hint of sarcasm in Magnus’ response but there was none, only honest curiosity.

  
“And worried.” No surprise at his admission, just Magnus’ soft brown eyes holding his gaze. Alec felt like he could sink right into them, safe from everything. He could trust those eyes. “I was worried about what my parents would think.”

  
“They didn’t like you being in Hufflepuff?”

  
“No, they wanted me to be in Gryffindor. Like Jace.” His brother with the powerful bear of a patronus bursting out of his wand in a geyser of silver light on the very first try.

  
“Are you proud to be in Hufflepuff?” At Magnus’ question, Alec looked up from where he’d been staring at Magnus’ silver and green silk scarf, tied in a stylish knot at his throat and pinned with a serpentine brooch. His own worn yellow sweater, with the sleeves stretched long in the years of wearing it, seemed laughable in comparison.

  
“Yes.” There was no hesitation in his answer.

  
Magnus held his gaze for a moment, lips quirked in a small smile before he spoke.

  
“I can understand that. My father wanted me to be in Slytherin. But the reason I am is because I fit there. I want to prove I can be a Slytherin without being like him. The Sorting Hat didn’t err. You make your house proud, Alec. No matter what your parents think.”

  
Alec was suddenly aware of just how close Magnus was; the smell of static, like raw energy, that wafted from Magnus filled his nose from the proximity. Alec held his breath as Magnus talked, mesmerized by the movement of his lips.

  
“And those colors look great on you anyway, so there’s that bonus.” Magnus’ grin was infectious and Alec felt himself respond in kind before he could even think through what that sentence really meant. Once he had, he looked down, running his fingers over the grooves in his wand intently.

  
“Well, I think it’s getting a little late, but we can pick it up from here next time,” Magnus’ smooth voice was just shy of suggestive but Alec still felt a curl of heat settle in his stomach. “Goodnight, Alexander.”

  
If Alec dreamed of silver and green that night, he would never admit it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've got all of the chapters written out, I just need to edit and polish it a little, so updates will be every few days.


	3. Chapter 3

The Great Hall was buzzing with chatter as usual when Alec sat down, a plate of bacon and scrambled eggs and a set of silverware floating down in front of him while his cup filled with orange juice automatically. The fact that the house table already knew what he was going to eat was testament to how often Alec changed up his breakfast menu; which was to say, never. 

Propping his Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook against the fruit bowl in front of him, he flipped through the pages as he started eating, barely paying attention to what he was forking into his mouth and tuning out the conversations around him. He almost missed the loud bang of the Great Hall’s doors opening if it hadn’t been for the simultaneous elbow dug into his side.

“Hey, Lightwood,” Lydia hissed from beside him.

“What...” The question died on his lips as he saw just who had entered. The large, heavy, entrance doors were still swaying from the force of being pushed open by none other than Magnus Bane, striding up the aisle between the Slytherin and Hufflepuff tables with a look that could tame a dragon. It wasn’t a sight he would ever forget.

Alec would have thought he was simply going to his usual spot on the Slytherin side, except Magnus’s eyes never wavered from his. Not that Alec could have looked away from him either. Magnus’ disregard for the Hogwarts uniform was no surprise, and even now his shimmering purple silk shirt was in stark contrast with the black robes and striped ties of everyone else around him. His eyes were lined with shimmering gold, a detail that kept distracting Alec as Magnus came closer and finally stopped less than an arm’s-length away. 

“Um, good morning?” Alec stammered his way through the greeting, cursing his pounding heart and wishing his breathing would return to normal. Had he come to tell Alec he wouldn’t help him with his patronus anymore? He couldn’t fault Magnus for that, Alec seemed like a lost cause in that department anyway. It had been nice while it lasted, the closeness, the warm smiles.

“Alexander, will you go to the Solstice Ball with me?” 

Alec’s brain short-circuited, the words reaching his ears but slowing down as he tried to process their meaning. His dizzied thoughts landed on the observation that Magnus really did look like a tiger, dazzling and with a wild intensity, and he was facing the pure essence of it. Something he shouldn’t pass up the chance to experience again. 

“Yes.” He swallowed, fortifying his voice. “Yeah, I’ll go with you.” He didn’t care if anyone else in the now silent Great Hall heard him, only one person mattered.

Magnus’ eyes lit up, Alec fancied his whole body did too but he wasn’t sure if that was just a product of his hiccuping brain or a trick of the light. Either way, as Magnus leaned closer with a radiant smile Alec fought to pay attention to his words. 

“Wonderful, it’s a date then.”

“It’s a date,” Alec agreed, this time recognizing the statement for the promise it was.


	4. Chapter 4

That day sped by faster than usual for Alec, his classes not enough to distract him from the thought of golden eyes and a glowing grin. He arrived at the classroom half an hour early only to find Magnus already there, pacing from corner to corner and fiddling with his rings. 

Alec had expected it to be awkward but they fell into the same pattern as before, Magnus guiding him into position with gentle touches and Alec noticing every skip of his heart at the lack of distance. 

“You ready?” Magnus asked, trailing his gaze over Alec as he backed away. “Just hold that memory in your head and make it your own.”

Alec closed his eyes and pulled up the memory again, the elation he’d felt when he’d gone to sit at the Hufflepuff table and started to go through the motions of the spell. 

“Expecto patronum.” He didn’t need to look to know it hadn’t worked, the dripping end of his wand was like a leaking faucet splashing onto the floor. He’d felt better about the memory this time, less bitterness and no regrets. He did remember it more happily now, but that didn’t change how he’d felt back then. He needed something instinctual, no room for any other emotion to cloud the moment, no room for him to overthink things. 

He glanced to the side at Magnus, still watching him carefully, and his stomach fluttered. Just as it had this morning, when Magnus had spoken those ten words. In that moment, it had just been pure, astonished joy. Like a firework going off without warning.

He’d barely finished saying the spell again when his wand became a waterfall, the light pooling in front of him into the crouched form of a panther. In the half-lit classroom only the panther’s outline was visible, its eyes a pair of lanterns as it rose to its full height. Alec wasn’t sure how something made of light could be dark, but it seemed to be of a more shadowy hue than any other patronus he’d seen, its lithe body stretching as it padded towards him. It settled beside him, statuesque and poised, as opposed to how Magnus’ ever-moving tiger had been during class. 

Alec crouched down, breath held in awe, as the panther bent its head to nuzzle his face, the light passing over his skin without any pressure. He glanced up at Magnus, surprised to find him staring with an open mouth and wide eyes. 

“You never cease to amaze me, Alexander,” Magnus’ whispered admission nevertheless reached Alec’s ears and he rubbed at his neck with an embarrassed smile.

“It’s all because I have a great tutor.” 

“I don’t deserve all the credit, this is because of your hard work, Alec. And maybe a bit of my magic touch.” Magnus waved his fingers through the air with what might have been fondness in his eyes and stepped closer. The panther flowed into motion, slinking closer to Magnus with languid strides. When it was close enough to touch, it wound its way around Magnus’ legs before returning to Alec’s side. 

“He likes me,” Magnus noted with a delighted laugh, his hand hovering over its head as though he meant to pet it.

“That makes two of us,” Alec murmured, staring steadfastly at the panther when he felt Magnus’ gaze on him. When he did look up Magnus was close enough to kiss, the gold from that morning still tracing his eyes and glinting in the dim light. 

Magnus closed the space between them in one half-step, fingers buried in Alec’s hair and pulling him in to press their lips together. The panther faded away, taking its silver light with it, but the tiger kissing Alec remained. He’d managed to coax two jungle cats into his arms in the span of a single night.


	5. Chapter 5

Magnus picked at his cuffs, though they were already charmed spotless, and paced in front of the stairs in the Entrance Hall. The Solstice Ball didn’t have any restrictions on dress code so he’d decided to go all out with regards to his waistcoat and cravat, with his usual flare for jewelry included. The dance had already started but he and Alec had agreed to meet a few minutes before. It wasn’t like Alec to be late, he’d always been especially prompt to their tutoring sessions and their other dates. 

Magnus turned on his heel, mind running over all the possible excuses except for the fact that Alec might have stood him up when the sound of feet rushing up stairs reached his ears.

“Magnus!” Alec called from where he’d emerged out of the hallway leading to the Hufflepuff dorms, striding across the Entrance Hall with long steps. Magnus stood where he was, drinking in the sight like a survivor in a desert. 

Alec’s trademark threadbare sweater and plain shirt had been replaced with a deep green velvet suit, the edges so dark they blended to black like moss into ink. Magnus was forcibly reminded of the fact that Alec was both a Chaser and the captain of the Hufflepuff quidditch team with how the suit’s lines clung to Alec’s every movement when he finally stopped short in front of him.

“I’m sorry I’m late, I was working on this.” He held out a single flower, its green-and-silver-striped petals tipped with gold. Magnus couldn’t even tell what the original flower had been and while it looked like it was spun from metal, its stem felt just like any other. He held it to his nose to breathe in its scent. Or scents, he was surprised to find, since it seemed to have more than one.

The comfortable smell of wool and cotton woven together, spiced with the sweet bitterness of dark chocolate and the crisp tang of wet grass after a thunderstorm. It was like the teasing hint of a loving memory he couldn’t quite recall, the aroma like an essence of affection. He looked up at Alec, touched by just how personal the gift felt. 

“This is incredible. How did you make this?”

“I watered it with amortentia,” Alec started to explain, before mistaking Magnus’ wide eyes for consternation. “But it doesn’t have the full effects of the potion, only the olfactory aspects. It won’t make you… um, infatuated or anything. It just smells like…” He trailed off, running a hand through his hair as he struggled for words.

“You.”

“Hm?”

“It smells like you, Alexander. I love it. And don’t worry, I don’t need any amortentia to feel infatuated. You’re doing a perfectly good job of that on your own.” Magnus beamed as Alec blushed, the shy smile on his face making Magnus’ heart feel like a sunflower finally bending towards the light. 

Alec reached out and carefully tucked the flower into Magnus’ lapel buttonhole, gaze intent on the delicate petals while Magnus stared unabashedly. 

“Shall we?” he managed to say after a second, holding out his hand and gesturing towards the open doors to the Great Hall and the band just starting to get into full swing inside. The moment the warm weight of Alec’s fingers settled against his palm and curled around his hand, he pulled them both into the ball and onto the dance floor. 

As Magnus shifted his hold to Alec’s waist and their breaths mingled from the sudden closeness, he had to admit that all that tutoring had been excellent practice for this.

**Author's Note:**

> Huge thanks to my wonderful friend Gretchen for yelling with me about this au and especially for the scene in the second and third chapters! Couldn't have done it without you.


End file.
